The present invention relates to furnishings for offices and other similar settings, and in particular to a vertical storage unit for modular office furniture, and the like.
Open office plans are well known in the art, and generally comprise large, open floor spaces that are partitioned off into individual workstations by movable panels. Partition panels in such open office plans are typically configured to receive hang-on furniture units, such as worksurfaces, overhead cabinets, shelves, etc., so that the panels become an integral part of the workstation furnishings. Center drawer units are often mounted underneath the worksurfaces at selected locations to provide convenient, closed storage areas at the workstations for certain types of frequently used articles, such as pencils, paper clips, note pads, and the like. One example of such a partition panel arrangement is disclosed in the Breiner Patent No. 3,916,972.
The above-noted partition panels and hang-on furniture arrangements are usually known in the office furniture industry as "systems furniture." Such systems furniture arrangements have some inherent restrictions in versatility, since each workstation must necessarily include certain types of partition panels in order to support the hang-on furniture units Furthermore, the hang-on furniture units can generally be assembled only in a rather limited number of different arrangements.
A unique alternative arrangement for dividing and partitioning open office plans is disclosed in related co-pending application Ser. No. 307,775, filed Feb. 7, 1989, entitled MODULAR FURNITURE, which has been incorporated by reference into the present application. This new arrangement provides a plurality of individual furniture units, each of which is independently supported on the floor of the open office. The freestanding furniture units have a novel modular construction which permits them to be individually arranged and combined in a predetermined configuration to create distinct workstations.
Another problem associated with conventional systems furniture relates to center drawer storage in task workstations. Many modern workstations are designed with separate task areas along a common worksurface, such as for correspondence, drafting, communications, computer operations, and the like. A castered task chair is normally provided at such workstations to permit the worker to easily move between the task areas of the workstation, while remaining seated in the chair. While conventional center drawers provide very convenient storage for frequently used articles, they protrude into the knee space underneath the worksurface, and thereby tend to interfere with the movement of the seated user as he moves in his chair between task areas along the worksurface. Furthermore, center drawer arrangements normally have limited storage space that is readily usable, since the worker must physically move out of the way to access the rear portions of the center drawer.